The identities of Pittsburgh tech startups that have secured investment dollars, both from private "angels" and venture capitalists, is slowly trickling out.

That list includes Franklin Park-based Tiversa Inc., which usually operates far from the limelight.

Tiversa, co-founded in 2003 by Pittsburgh natives Robert Boback and Sam Hopkins, prefers the mystery emanating from its Web site (www.tiversa.com), which says only that the firm "works with government agencies and private companies to protect their sensitive and classified information."

Tiversa's home-grown and patented technology prevents "data leakage" for customers in the insurance, professional services, pharmaceuticals and financial services industries, Mr. Boback said. It cut its teeth with customers from federal intelligence agencies, such as the CIA and FBI.

Credit card and bank account numbers, Social Security numbers and who knows what other closely guarded information floating in the ether for anyone to grab makes security -- the digital kind -- more important than ever. And Pittsburgh has the makings of a cluster of data security companies buttressed by talent and technology flowing out of cybersecurity hub Carnegie Mellon University.

That's where Tiversa -- the 3-year-old firm that last month landed an undisclosed investment from investors including Adams Capital Management -- is actively seeking talent.

Tiversa has had to beat back poachers -- out-of-town venture capitalists who have tried to steal the company away from Pittsburgh. "We fought hard to stay in Pittsburgh," Mr. Boback said.

Tiversa could be classified as a FreeMarkets spawn since former FreeMarkets executive Chris Gormley joined as chief operating officer. And FreeMarkets veteran David Becker, who's busy raising a venture capital fund with FreeMarkets founder Glen Meakem, was chief financial officer at Tiversa until recently.

Today, Mr. Becker has settled in as a member of Tiversa's advisory board.

Lastly, the young firm, which employs 15 and hopes to bring on 40 by next year, has tapped former Microsoft and Ebay executive Howard Schmidt as an adviser.

Respironics spinout Starr Life Sciences also is generating interest from local investors. Led by former Respironics executive Eric Starr, who launched the firm with a handful of Respironics veterans, the company develops tools for monitoring small animals -- particularly lab rats and mice used for scientific and medical research.

Dennis S. Meteny, the former chief executive officer at Respironics who has guided other local firms just out of the gate and was named CEO of local manufacturer Cygnus this week, is on the company's advisory board.

Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association has tapped Ray Leach of Cleveland's tech economic development generator JumpStart to serve on its board of directors for 2006 and 2007.

The board, chaired by Draper Triangle Venture's Michael Stubler, asked Mr. Leach to join after he led efforts to expand this month's 3 Rivers Venture Fair beyond Pennsylvania and Ohio.

There's a significant increase this year in the companies participating from other states, Mr. Leach said. "You want to make sure the highest quality is there, that's what gets investors," he said.

Gathering a gang of top-notch startups from a range of nearby states has the potential to reel in investors who will be lured by the chance to eye potential investments in one fell swoop, Mr. Leach added.

"We can give venture capitalists reasons to stop here. ... It gives them more than one reason to come to this part of the country," he said.

That a Cleveland economic development group modeled after Innovation Works has latched onto Pittsburgh ultimately will bring more visibility for investors, entrepreneurs and technologies emerging from both regions, noted Mr. Leach.

Both Cleveland and Pittsburgh typically are "fly-over zones" for investors from California and the East Coast who fail to make pit stops in the area as they go back and forth from coast to coast in search of the next big thing.

It makes sense for the two cities to think regionally -- instead of territorially. "We view each other as collaborative, not competitive," Mr. Leach said. "I have no interest in poaching."

TheSoulPitt.com, a community Web site showcasing African-American culture, businesses and events in Pittsburgh, was nominated for the BlackWebAwards.com, which celebrates African, African-American and Caribbean excellence online. Submit your ballot by Oct. 20 by visiting, www.blackwebawards.com/top_categories. Winners will be announced on Oct. 28.

Robotics startup co-founder Hagen Schempf and his team of roboticists at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute will receive R&D Magazine's "100 Award" for outstanding innovation.

Dr. Schempf and the team are being recognized for designing, building and deploying Explorer, a remote-controlled, wireless, crawling robot that inspects underground natural gas distribution pipelines. Explorer can inspect hundreds to thousands of feet of pipe from one excavation point, which can significantly reduce costs per foot of pipe inspected. Other camera systems currently require new excavations every 100 to 200 feet.

The Pittsburgh Product Strategy Network is reinventing itself -- dropping the city name from its title and moving its Web site to www.productsrategynetwork.com.

Chief Executive Officer Jim Berardone said dropping "Pittsburgh" from the title allows the group to broaden its reach -- and deliver its product development road map to the areas that are demanding it, including Seattle, Silicon Valley and Boston. The network plans to capitalize on the national demand, Mr. Berardone said, and reap some rewards for Pittsburgh along the way.

"By going to these other cities, we can bring best practices from other companies [elsewhere] into Pittsburgh." The new Web site will be ready next week.